That Kind of Hero
by Red Giraffes
Summary: Only in the face of danger, does one truly show what sort of hero they are. Warning: Features non-graphic rape, and violence. One shot.


**( Not my show or comic or anything. I tried to keep this as in character as possible, and I tried to use some of the terminology of the show. My memory is a bit hazy, so if I got something wrong, feel free to correct me. **

**Rated M for: Violence, torture, non-graphic rape, sexual ****innuendos**

**No spoilers past the point when Artemis was introduced. If you didn't know that happened, I'm sorry )**

Kid Flash lifted his head up, and looked wearily around. His arms were trapped, as were his les. He looked around and noticed his team mates in a similar situation. His memory was a bit fuzzy, but Wally thought it was safe to assume that they failed the last mission.

Naturally, he would be the first one up, with his accelerated healing. He pulled at the restraints, which happened to be chained to the floor. Great, the most he could do was fall out of his chair and take a nap on the ground. Maybe he could phase out of them…

Wally sped up the molecules in his arm, trying to pass through the chain. Unfortunately, the only thing he got was a nosebleed.

"Great," He murmured to himself, unable to do anything to stop the bleeding. He glanced around, in some sort of cliché warehouse; no way tell to their location. Robin was to is right, Aqualad his left. The others were nowhere to be seen, they probably split them up. Or maybe they got away. He really hoped they got away, maybe then they would be rescued. If not, Bats would start looking for them… soon?

Kid Flash realized he had no idea how long he'd been out for. He couldn't even remember what mission he was on. This is bad. This is really bad.

Robin slowly woke up, immediately noticing the chains, and his lack of utility belt. Obviously being held hostage for some reason or another, in some dusty looking warehouse. No windows, a single door, the space was small, high ceilings, no air vents. From the looks of it, this place has been abandoned for years.

He could feel his mask was still on his face, so that was a good sign. They don't want blackmail, and they haven't really injured them so far. Though, that doesn't mean there wouldn't be torture to come. It just means that they are wanted alive.

He moved a little, the chair was moveable, and he looked down and noticed the chains could be unscrewed from the floor. All he needs is something to unscrew them… Robin searched the area, and nothing could be found. Sighing to himself, he realized he would have to rely on the stupidity of his captors.

Glancing to his left, he noticed Kid Flash was awake, and staring of to space. Aqualad was still out. Should he get KF's attention? Maybe it would be best to wait, don't want to attract unwanted attention unnecessarily.

Robin felt so…. Naked without his utility belt. He felt pretty useless without it. He knew he had a lock pick in his boot, but they would be impossible to take off with the shackles.

Glancing down, he noticed he didn't have shoes on. Weird. He looked over and noticed his other team mates lacked shoes too.

That's different. He thought maybe he could slip his foot out, but the shackles were extremely tight. No chance of that happening.

Then, a thought occurred to him. Why was he there in the first place? It wasn't one of Bruce's training exercises, as far as he knew. The last thing… the last thing he did was go on some mission on some island. Now he's here. Where's the rest of the team? The must have split them up, power in numbers.

Robin tried to think of recently escaped villains in Gotham… unfortunately, there was a massive break out the day before the mission. Which was why they were sent on a dangerous mission in the first place. It also means that Batman will not come looking for them for awhile, he had too much on his plate as it was.

Maybe Kid Flash can try to vibrate out of the chains? Another glance at his friend told him the speedster has already tried.

Speaking of escaping, shouldn't there be someone there to make sure they weren't doing that right now? Robin stared at the door, as if someone was going to waltz right through so Robin could figure out the whole scheme.

He's trained for moments like this, he was prepared. All he has to do is think of it like one of Batman's demonstrations, and he'll be okay. He has yet to fail from escaping one of those demonstrations. Sooner or later, the villain would screw up. It's not a guess, it's a fact. At that moment, Robin would be ready. Ready to use that to his advantage and escape.

Robin stretched out his leg, testing the weight and reach of the chains. The reach was decent; he could lift his foot about halfway up, though the chains were too heavy to make it useful for kicking. The chains on his arms allowed no upward reach, though he might be able to hit someone behind the knee if they stood close enough.

Wally stared at Robin, curious as to what he was doing. Ahh, he was testing out the chains. Kid Flash knew it was hopeless for him to try, his main strength was speed. Not that he was without strength, but his chains were shorter than Robins, allowing no way to fight back in battle. He glanced over at Dick, seeing that his cape was removed. Shame, it could have been used as a weapon.

Kid Flash had no patience. He had negative patience. Every minute feels like ten, and he's been waiting for far too long.

"Hey! Uhh, not that you're not important or anything, but I've got things to do! People to see, girls to flirt with, food to eat! Could you possibly speed up this whole waiting thing? I'd like to skip to the part where I escape, if you don't mind!" Kid Flash called out hopelessly, ignoring the glares coming from Robin.

"Shut up!" He heard Robin say through clenched teeth, as they both stared at the door. Sooner or later, a person had to emerge. They didn't just leave them there, did they?

Suddenly, movement was heard by both of them, as someone started to unlock the door. Robin made note that the door was kept locked, while Kid Flash glanced worriedly at Kaldur, hoping he did the right thing.

"Sorry to keep you waitin', boys. I was hopin' your friend over there would wake up first, but apparently we knocked him around too much. What can you do?" The man said with a shrug as he approached the teen heroes.

Neither of the conscious heroes recognized the man. He was big, and was wearing a torn suit. He had a large shiny head, and carried a case with him, with some sort of lock on it.

"Sorry, I don't want to insult you or anything, but who are you?" KF asked the man; Robin could just slap him. Some villains get insulted if they were not immediately recognized, rule of thumb is to hold your cards close and wait for them to play theirs. Wally went with more of the theory of laying his cards on the table for the world to see while he was tying his shoe.

"Me? Names not important. I'm just here for the info. You tell me what I need to know, and you're free to go." The man shrugged, opening his case in a way where the teens could not see its contents.

"Who are you working for?"Kid Flash asked; a question that Robin was getting ready to ask himself. Robin decided he would give u on the talking thing, maybe if he was stoic and scowling, it would remind the man of his mentor.

"I work for anyone who has the cash. I have no loyalties. Though, whoever hired me was willing to pay a lot of cash. I promised them you would receive the luxury treatment, and I never go back on my word." He said with a cruel grin. Wally shivered, certain that none of the Flash's villains were evil enough to higher such a man. He sent a look over at Robin, knowing one of the psychos in Gotham must have.

Robin caught the look, letting him now the Wally knew what Robin had already discovered. Of course it was a Gotham villain, he would be able to tell who by the questions. More than likely, it was the Joker.

"So, who wants to go first? I'm not here to play games. I have… other clients to attend to." Clients meaning the other three, of course. Wally knew he had to distract the man as much as possible.

"I'm sure you want to get some money so you can actually afford a suit that you didn't steal off a dead man." Kid Flash said with a smirk, while Robin stared at the speedster.

What was he doing? Robin knew he was smarter than that. What was he scheming?

"Ahh, a volunteer. A chatty one too. I've got plenty of tools here; hopefully I won't have to use them. I would hate to scar up that pretty little face of yours, or that _delicious_ looking body." Kid Flash paled; he wasn't expecting that. Apparently, he would have to tread lightly. Obviously, this man was a bit screwed up himself.

"I've got plenty of answers, ask a question."

"What's your real name?"

"Kid Flash."

"No, the name you were born with."

"Prince Charming, couldn't you tell?"

"One last strike, I'm warning you."

"Fine, you got me. John Smith."

The man sat there with a stupid look on his face, tying to tell if it was the truth or not. Robin snickered, the man glared at him sharply.

"Well, I have no way to prove your name is not John Smith as of yet. I'll be back, trust me, I'll know if it's a lie. And you will be sorry." He started to leave. Kid flash started to panic, that wasn't his plan at all!

"No, wait! It was a lie. My real name is Juanita Flor." The man turned around and glared at the speedster.

"You want to play games? Fine, we'll play games." The man unlocked his case, and pulled out a flame torch, and Wally paled even more. He was expecting a knife, or a whip, or something! Robin looked over frantically.

"Maybe I should take a turn? You know, KF just a prankster, he never knows when to take things seriously." Robin begged, trying to turn the man's attention away from his friend. The man was lost to excitement, his eyes light up as he turned the torch on.

"Don't worry; you'll have your turn. Now, what would you like? Hmm… I think I know just the thing." The man returned to his box, and grabbed a mask for his face. Slowly, he approached the Scarlet Speedster, a crazed look in his eye.

The man took off his tie, and tied Wally's neck to the chair, preventing him from moving forward.

"I told you, I didn't want to do this. I'm going to warn you, I get a bit… excited. I can guarantee my reaction afterwards. Now, onward!" He flipped the blow torch back on. Taking the torch, he slowly we around the insignia on his chest.

Wally told himself he wasn't going to scream, he really did. He tried too but as soon as the fire licked at his skin, he knew he couldn't hold out for long. He bit into his lip, but before long he was screaming. The white hot pain hurt, but he knew it was better him than anyone else. He would heal, eventually. The others it might be a bit more fatal for. Besides, he couldn't let this… perverse man around the innocent Superboy or the girls. Oh, but it did hurt like hell!

Robin struggled to escape; he thrashed trying to get out of his chair. He struggled so much he managed to pull his shoulder out of socket. He screamed for the man to stop, the look in his eye more terrifying than the action itself. He glanced over, and saw that Kaldur was starting to get up.

The smell, oh the smell was terrible. Robin vomited leaning to the opposite side of his chair of where the man was. The Boy wonder knew he would never forget the smell.

It seemed to take an eternity, before the man was finished, leaving black charred insignia in its place.

"Woo! Nothing gets the heart going like a nice branding, does it?" The man said, shivering. He ripped off his mask and smiled brightly. He leaned over, and licked up Kid's flash jaw line.

"Ahh, don't tempt me like that again." The man said darkly. Robin leaned over and spat at them man.

"You, are a vile and disgusting creature!" Robin shouted, trying not to glance at Aqualad, who was currently escaping. He just needed to hold the man's attention long enough.

"So the boy wonder stands up after all. Jealous, are you? I could give you the same treatment, if you wish?" The man said with a smirk. Robin tried to swallow the bile that threatened to come up; he tried not to glance at Wally. Strangely, he was still hanging in. Kid Flash was stronger than the team gave him credit for.

"Wouldn't… wouldn't you li-like to know if I'm a natural… redhead?" Kid Flash said with labored breathing, trying to spare his young friend the torture the man could inflect.

The man stared hungrily between the two boys, a look of excitement of his face. He completely missed out on the other boy, who had just worked one of his arms out of the shackle. Robin knew there wasn't much time yet.

"Oh, but did I ever tell you how _hot _you were just now? I mean, the way you moved that… that blowtorch! Wow." Robin said, lying through his teeth.

The pale speedster stared at his friend, who was obviously suffering. Though, Robin knew something Wally didn't. He just had to stay alert enough to lay the game with Robin, before something bad happened.

"Well, unlike… Boy Blunder… I've got… experience." Wally replied, breathing heavy, hoping he sounded somewhat truthful.

"Boys, boys! No need to fight over me! Man, I need to capture teenagers more often, your hormones are crazy. I'll get to you later, Robin. I've got… I've got a bit of a thing for redheads."

Robin cursed in his head, and knew the battle was lost. Aqualad had both of his hands free. So close…

Robin looked away as soon as the man dropped his pants, and closed his eyes tight as he tried to block out the noise. Obviously, Kid Flash wasn't lying about the experience. _Come one, Aqualad, Hurry!_

He heard a rip of fabric; Robin started to shiver with fear and anger. How could anyone be so vile? He heard a thud, and someone grabbed his wrist. Robin jumped and shrank back in fear, but it was simply his leader. The other man was laying face down on the ground, knocked out… or dead. Whichever was fine with Robin.

"This might hurt." His leader warned. Robin braced himself as Aqualad used his electricity to melt the chain. He tried to ignore the small voltage, obviously it was a low voltage, which is why it took so long. It was a slight tingling that went through his body. He looked over at Wally, who was blank. He just wasn't there. And he was shivering. He was probably going into shock; they really need to get out there as soon as possible.

One arm free. Second arm free. One leg, then another. Finally Robin was free. He glanced at Kaldur, and noticed a sluggishly bleeding gash across his forehead. Seems like he was the only one unscathed.

"So... where were we before this?" Robin asked, and he searched the man's pants for keys. They needed to get out of there fast, but it would be nice if they knew where they were.

"Drug bust, some unnamed Caribbean Island. We've been moved though. I think we might actually be in Gotham somewhere." Aqualad noted, freeing the Speedsters limbs. Robin finally found a key to the door, and ran over to watch nervously at Aqualad freed Kid Flash's last leg.

"Here, you grab the key, I'll grab KF. I'm pretty much useless without my gear anyways."Robin bargained, handing Aqualad the key as he grabbed Wally. He was solid, but nothing Robin couldn't handle. He carried Wally bridal style, politely averting his eyes from the tear in his friend's uniform. They burst outside; the gloomy air of Gotham surrounded them.

Robin quickly took in the surroundings, realizing they were pretty much smack dab in the middle of all the villains' hideouts. Good, because batman must be around. Bad, because... well, the villains.

As they were escaping, they ran into the other trio.

"Hey! We've been looking for you guys! Whatever idiot captured used failed to realize the whole 'super strength' aspect of… he, what's wrong with Kid Flash?" Artemis started, but the stopped, looking highly concerned. Robin met her eyes with a hard looking, shifting Wally's body closer to him, to save him some dignity.

"Now… it's not the time. We need to get out of here. Now, a few blocks away, here is an emergency bat signal on top of the bank. Unfortunately, it's probably being robbed right now." Robin stated, pointing to the general direction of where the building was He needed to be strong, this was his territory and these were his villains. Wally West would not die on his turf. Never. He needed to stay strong, even as the faces of the other trio fell. Artemis gained her exposure the fastest.

"Well? What other choice do we have? We need to get there… for Kid Flash." Superman led the way, as the rest followed. Artemis walked with Robin in the middle, as she was also without weapons. They walked through alleys, scaring a few muggers along the way.

The finally gained some luck, and walked there without incident. Wally had passed out by now, and Robin was even more worried.

"Just up the fire escape, go ahead Superboy. The sooner the better. There's a switch in the back. Normally, it scares away the minor villains, but it may attract the larger villains who want to ambush Batman. Be prepared." He stated, and threw Flash over his good shoulder as he made his way up the fire escape.

Batman came, and he took them away without hesitation. He asked no question, and expected no answers. Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis were lead away to Mt. Justice. The other three were taken to the medical bay in the Watchtower.

Robin remained on the watchtower, his arm in a sling so he wouldn't move it. He was waiting for Wally to wake up. Though, he wasn't in the actual medical bay; Flash was in there and that would be awkward. Instead, he sat by himself in the cafeteria, the look on his face scaring away anyone from approaching. It was moments like these where he represented his mentor well.

He was haunted, haunted by images, by sights, by smells. His stomach turned, as he tried ot to think of it. He didn't even notice Batman's approach until he sat down.

He didn't say anything. He sat there, and grabbed Robin's hand. Even through the cowl, Robin could read the support on his face. Robin offered him a small smile. He could feel the rage come off of Batman, just like he could feel the rage of the all the members in the League.

"How's Wally?" Robin finally asked, in a low voice, trying to avoid attention.

"Still out, fortunately. Physically, he'll be fine" Batman said coolly. What Wally went through… to protect Robin, the Boy Wonder was so grateful. He doubted very many would stick up to him to the extent that Wally did.

"I can't believe how strong he is. He saved me. He saved the whole team, and took the torture for himself…"

"Any idea who hired him?"

"No. Only asked one question, pertaining to Kid Flash's secret identity. I thought it might be Joker, but Joker would ask more… abstract questions."

"… I want you to drop this case, Robin."

"What? No! I need to do this, you don't understand!"

"I do understand, and that's exactly why you're not going to do it. Also, nor more crime fighting until this is figure out. The Young Justice team has been suspended until further notice."

"No! You can't do this! I need this!" Robin said, tempted to stand up and make a scene. He knew better though, he knew this was the right thing for the team to heal.

"Whatever, I'm going to go bring some food to the medical bay." Robin said, and left his mentor to go grab some food to bring for the Flash's. He stuffed his sling full of bas of chips, and carried a package of cookies in his good hand.

When Robin walked in, he saw his friend first. He was laying there, no shirt on to reveal a raised shiny new scar in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Hey… Flash. I, uh, I brought some food?" Robin offered dejectedly. Flash turned his head to stare at him, his cowl was down, and tears were in his eyes.

"Hey there, little bat. Thanks. You can… put it over there." HE motioned to a counter on the opposite side of the room.

"You know, he's the bravest person I've ever met. He saved me, and I will be eternally grateful for it." Robin told Flash, sitting down next to him.

"He always was so caring, he hides it, but he cares a lot more than he lets on." Flash said dejectedly as he gripped the youngest speedsters hand firmly. The Flash sighed, and stood up.

"He, I'm going to go… do something. I'll give you a moment." Flash said, and left the room. Robin took Wally's hand in his own, and stared at him.

"I'm so sorry. I am so sorry. I'm here for you, don't forget. I just-" Robin's voice broke, as he stared at the face of the tortured boy.

" 'm feeling the aster, Rob." Wally mumbled, giving Robin's hand a slight squeeze. Robin gave a sad smile, and briefly let a tear fall down his face. He would never forgive himself. He would never stop searching for the man who did this. No matter what Batman says, KF deserves vengeance.

Wally was aware of the job he had, and he knew the dangerous. He knew it entails protecting the innocent as much as possible. Wally would say he did his job well that night. He was just that sort of hero.


End file.
